Chapter 45: Chapter 45 The Reason Chapter 45: Chapter 45 The Reason Editor: Atlas Studios Su Mo’s voice was not stern, nor was it unrelentingly harsh.
It was gentle, as if it were a casual greeting between friends.
However, this casual greeting contrasted starkly with the ghastly screams on the ground.
The man had no choice but to stop in his tracks and turn back to look at Su Mo.
His face was ashen, completely drained of color.
Su Mo looked at him and smiled:
“Ever since you arrived here, I knew something was off. Although you arrived first, I clearly heard that the other two arrived almost simultaneously with you. Still, once you showed up, they each concealed themselves to the left and right.
“They keep claiming you stole their things, yet they refuse to mention what those things are.
“When the Sword Master from Seven Extremes Hall arrived, upon seeing the Sword Box behind me, he immediately insisted that it was the item you had stolen.
“Retreating ten thousand steps, I could guess that this Sword Master from Seven Extremes Hall, upon seeing my item, sensed its uniqueness, and wanted to claim it for himself.
“However, the previous dealings between you all are obscure, aren’t they?”
Su Mo squatted down, still smiling as he said, “The injuries on your body seem quite real, pity that the more you do, the more you say, the more mistakes you make. Regarding all your Mystical deception, I do have a guess, but right now, I’d prefer to first hear what you have to say.”
His tone was warm, as though he were having a heart-to-heart with an old friend.
After giving Su Mo a cautious glance, the man began to narrate:
“The Sword Master… had encountered a Swordsman before, and for some reason, they suddenly came to blows.
“The result was that the Swordsman was extremely fierce, and with a single strike, he managed to snap the Sword Master’s personal sword…
“The Sword Hall holds the Qingyang Sword, the Sword Master is only charged with managing and using it. If the Qingyang Sword were to be damaged in the slightest, the Sword Master would bear substantial blame.
“At that time, the atmosphere in the Sword Hall was naturally gloomy… until the Sword Master heard a piece of news that a master swordsmith had forged a new treasure sword, precious enough to rival the Qingyang Sword.
“Yet, for some reason, this sword was being escorted by an obscure and insignificant person. Upon hearing this, the Sword Master knew…this was an opportunity.”
Here, he cautiously glanced at Su Mo again, seeing no displeasure on his face, he continued:
“As you know, Seven Extremes Hall’s reputation is now in grave danger, the Sword Master indeed wanted to rectify his responsibility for damaging the Qingyang Sword. However, brazenly leading his disciples to ambush the escort, even if disguised as Green Forest Road, would still be recognizably notorious; after all, there are no walls in the world that don’t leak.
“He… is already burdened with blame, and if he were to act in such a manner again, even with a replacement in hand, he’d likely not escape from being held accountable.
“So, that’s why he devised this elaborate plan… which was to have me feign stealing from the Sword Hall, to get close to you.
“The actions taken by the Sword Master upon arriving had a dual purpose.
“The first was to make me an enemy of the same foes as you, to become friends.
“The second… if you were intimidated by Seven Extremes Hall’s reputation and momentum, and truly followed us, it would save a tremendous amount of effort.
“Conversely, if the plan did not come to fruition, then… after becoming friends with you two, I could naturally find a way to steal the sword in secret…”
At this point in his explanation, he couldn’t help but glance at the sword borrower who was fast asleep against the tree root.
Even though he knew that without this person, tonight’s plan would be doomed to fail anyhow.
Yet, recalling the man’s martial arts skills and Su Mo’s prowess that leaves no opponent within a single move, he couldn’t stop the cold sweat from breaking out on his forehead; he was truly terrified.
“How ingenious.”
Su Mo couldn’t help but nod, “If we were to go with you, once we reached the domain of the Seven Extremes Hall’s, we would naturally be at your mercy, treated however you please. Even if this gets spread, we would only be known as two young Jianghu members who have stepped out of line. Then again, even if we were to go through the Seven Extremes Hall and come out unscathed, bearing the reputation of having stolen precious treasures, how could we face anyone in the Jianghu again?
“And us, two insignificant figures on the fringes of the Jianghu, even if we spoke openly of our ordeal, how many would believe us?
“Instead, we would be suspected of harboring resentment and slandering the Seven Extremes Hall…
“Furthermore, if things truly unfold as you have planned, ensnaring us with your first plot and turning us into friends,
“In that case, even if you were to steal the treasure sword in the dead of night, I would never associate it with the Seven Extremes Hall.
“After all, we would be united in our hatred of a common enemy, and your reputation as a ‘thief’ has been clearly announced by the Seven Extremes Hall.
“I would only scorn myself for befriending a thief and ultimately suffer for failing to judge people properly.
“Good… truly a clever scheme.”
Su Mo let out a sigh. In this world, nothing outweighs reason.
The Seven Extremes Hall’s schemes aim to control reason; if successful, they would completely sever any association with this incident.
As long as their goal is achieved, they might well mock us two junior members of the Jianghu over tea, for not understanding the dangers of human nature and the depths of the Jianghu, for falling prey to another’s scheme while still being naive and ignorant.
Yang Xiaoyun sighed softly, “The treachery of the human heart is indeed the malice of the Jianghu.”
“Isn’t it just?” Su Mo sighed again, then asked, “Do you know why I still haven’t killed you?”
“Why… why?” Hearing this, the person couldn’t help but raise his head to look at Su Mo.
“Because I’m curious about something.” Su Mo asked, “You’ve said so much, but you haven’t told us, who informed you of our journey’s details, and who told you about the items we carry?”
“It’s… it’s…” The man raised his head after just saying two words, only to see a sudden glint of a hidden weapon appear out of nowhere and shoot straight for his throat.
This attack had been long in preparation, waiting only for the man to speak before it would instantly end his life.
Unexpectedly, just as the gleam appeared, Su Mo quickly reached out and pulled the man behind him, causing the icy dart to lodge into a tree trunk instead.
With a clang, illuminated by firelight, the hidden weapon’s blue-green shine was evident—it was clearly coated with deadly poison!
“Been waiting for you for a long time, did you really think I’ve never watched a TV drama?” Su Mo casually threw the man over to Yang Xiaoyun, then with a push of his foot, he leaped into the night.
Yang Xiaoyun’s heart tightened, she was about to call out a warning when she heard a resounding boom.
In the darkness, two figures had clearly clashed once, and the powerful Vigorous Wind radiation caused the firelight to leap up more than a foot into the air.
But there was Su Mo, flying backward with furrowed brows.
Yang Xiaoyun immediately asked, “How is it? Are you injured?”
“No matter.” Su Mo shook his head, “I parried a palm strike, but in this forest, there are actually two people hidden.”